


sweater vests and ties

by coldairballoons (orphan_account)



Category: Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Camboy H.G. Wells, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, I AM ASEXUAL AND YET MY BF AND I WROTE THIS FOREVER AGO AHSHJFHDSFH, I Am So Sorry., I've got nothing to say for myself, Lingerie, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn with Feelings, Sex Toys, Time Travel, camboy au, pornstar AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:27:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28888350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/coldairballoons
Summary: I am so sorry for this.Anyways, a VERY EXPLICIT Poe Party pornstar AU.
Relationships: Ernest Hemingway/H. G. Wells
Kudos: 3





	sweater vests and ties

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

HG bit his lip, shutting his eyes and laughing breathlessly as he stroked himself, cracking an eye open at another ping from the tip chat. “‘Edge yourself one more time’? Are you trying to--” he gasped, moving his hand away for a moment to catch his breath. “Are you trying to kill me?” 

He gave a grin at the camera setup, before looking directly at it and starting to stroke himself again, humming and leaning his head back against the pillows on his bed, shutting his eyes as he sped up his hand. “Fuck--right, that--that feels good.” His breath hitched, and he moaned, but opened his eyes again at the sound of another notification.

‘How do you feel about collars?’

HG’s face went bright red. “I--that sounds  _ great _ . Why do you ask…” he leaned in, “...homingway69?” He laughed a little bit. “Great name, love.”

‘You’ll see. ;)’

He laid back again. “Should I be scared, Mr. Homingway69?” HG hummed with a raised eyebrow, dropping a hand between his legs once more to stroke himself again. He bit his lip, trying to maintain composure, and looked up at the camera.

‘Less scared, more excited.’

Oh, so they were playing this game now? “Oh? You’ve piqued my interest.”

‘Expect a package soon :)’

And just like that, HG melted, but this was… different than the other packages he’d received. He couldn’t quite place it, but there was something about this… Homingway69 (good  _ god _ , that name--) that made him feel… happy? It was an odd thing to be thinking about with his hand on his dick, but not bad, by any means. 

“Thank you so much, love, it means the--ah.” He gasped, bucking his hips up into his fist. “The world, thank you.”

‘You’re so pretty, you know that? Such a pretty boy, showing yourself off like this.’

HG moaned, speeding his hand up, hips snapping up against his hand. “Fuck--god, thank you, sir, that--thank you--”  _ Shit _ , why was he getting so close so quickly? “May I… I want to cum for you, may I?”

After a few more seconds than this particular viewer usually took to reply, a response finally came: a simple ‘Yes’.

He gasped, nodding, and sped up his thrusts, moaning. “God, yes, thank you--thank you, thank you, oh--!” After another moment or so, he came, almost harder than he had in a while, crying out, shuddering as he came down from his climax.

With a weak whine, HG laid back, moving his hand off himself and looking up at the camera with a soft smile on his lips. “Thank you…”

‘You’re welcome, doll.’

HG laughed weakly, wiping his hand off on his sheets, and just laid there for a moment, catching his breath. “You’re too good to me, Mr. Homingway69, thank you.”

‘:)’

He smiled up at the camera for a moment, before leaning forward. “Thank you for watching.” HG said softly, and with a small, almost shy smile, ended the stream.

***

Ernest sat up before heading to the shower. He needed to clean up a bit. As he washed himself off, he couldn’t help but think of the camboy, how he said his name (or, well, his username). God, it was so stupid, but hearing his name said like  _ that? _ Well, it was a good thing this shower was cold. "Looks like I'm getting this boy a collar." He laughed to himself as he washed his body, thinking about just what  _ kind _ of collar he was going to buy for the boy.

A few minutes later, he stepped out, the shower not having helped much with his thoughts. "Dear God, do I really have to start over?" he asked himself, almost amused. Well, he could always just take another shower afterwards...

***

“Right, hello, all.” HG smiles as he turns on the camera. “I… do hope you’re all doing well.” Awkward small talk, always good to start a scene off with, right? He leaned up to turn on his lamp, waiting for a few more people to get on the stream, and after a moment or so, sat back, kneeling atop his bed.

“So. Is there anything in particular anyone would want to see?” 

'Ready for round 2 already? Damn'

He laughed a little bit, palming at himself through his pants. “Nice to see you too, Mr. Homingway69. Terribly sorry, were you wanting to wait longer?”

'No, just a bit surprised you're already going again. Twice in one day… Eager, are we?'

“I used to run track, love, don’t underestimate my stamina.” A lie, actually, but it was better to keep up the guise of the witty “Goggles” rather than the complete and utter nerd “Bertie”, considering he definitely doubted people would pay quite as much to see the latter. But he flashed a smile, looking up at the camera. “But, yes. A tad eager.”

Maybe four seconds pass before another message comes in: 'Do you have any toys?'

“That I do, love.” His cheeks heated a little bit, but he nods. “What in particular?”

'What have you got?'

HG held up a finger and leaned over, reaching beneath his bed for a box. “I’ve got… vibrators, various sized…”  _ God _ , he hated that word, it’s so awkward, “...dildos, um… take your pick.” 

The wait was a bit longer, but no more than 15 seconds. 'Vibrator'

“Right.” HG nodded. “And, how do you want me right now? Clothes on or off, just in boxers, I have… um… some lingerie…” His face was bright red, why was he so flustered already? It was just this damn guy...

'Damn, you've got it all, don't you? I'd like to see you in something lacy.'

He nodded again, looking up at the camera. “Of course. I’ll just be a moment.” He gave a small smile and got up off of his bed, going to his dresser to search for… something.

***

As Ernest waited, he couldn't help but realize something. Something he really did  _ not _ want to realize with a hand on his dick: He was in love with this camboy. He loved Goggles. "Damn it… why does he have to be so  _ pretty _ ?" he whispered, imagining what might have been happening on the other side of the screen.

***

HG crawled back onto the bed, wearing an oversized sweater with… seemingly nothing beneath it, and kneeled back in front of the camera, looking up. “I’m back.”  _ No shit, Sherlock. _

'That doesn't look like any lingerie I've seen before, kitty.'

Oh, if  _ that _ didn’t make HG blush more than he thought was humanly possible… “I’m aware, love. Perhaps a bit of teasing is in order? After all, we still have quite a bit of time left in this stream...” Actually, it was mainly because sweater comfy, boy awkward, but shhh…

'You look cute, but are you sure you're not already teasing? You did promise lingerie, after all.'

HG rolled his eyes, before tugging off the sweater, revealing a lacy white top with matching panties, where it was…  _ very _ obvious he was hard. “Content yet, Mr. Homingway?”

'That's much better, yes.'

“Excellent.” He smiled up at the camera once more, before reaching over to grab the vibrator from the box. After a moment, though, he paused, looking up. “Which one, sir?”

'What's the biggest you've got?'

HG picked up a rather large vibrator, holding it up. “It’s--well, technically, it’s a vibrating dildo, but… this would be the largest, yes.”

'Perfect.'

“Right.” He switched it on, biting his lip, and looked up at the camera as he pressed it against himself lightly, hips almost immediately rutting forwards against it. “Dear god…” 

After a moment or so, he paused, moving it away. “No comment there, Mr. Homingway?”

'Just admiring you, sweetheart.'

“Admiring me?” HG’s cheeks flushed. “I--thank you… might I continue?”

'Please do.'

“Thank you,” he whispered, resuming the vibrations with a soft moan. He began to slowly rock against it, biting his lip to muffle the (near constant) whines. “God--please, oh my--”

His breath hitched as he spread his legs a bit more, pressing the vibrator against himself a little bit more rhythmically, and after a moment or so, pulled away to palm at himself through the lace. “I… I forget how…  _ quickly _ … terribly sorry, I didn’t want this to be over so quickly.”

'God, you're the prettiest little mess I've seen. Absolutely destroyed this quickly. It's cute.'

HG moaned at that, a full-on  _ moan _ . “Dear  _ God _ , sir, you can’t just…  _ say _ things like that…” And despite that, he was loving it more than he cared to admit. “I’m… I try, love.”

'And what a good job you're doing, my dear.'

He melted. ‘My dear’? No one had ever called him that on a stream, he couldn’t help his immediate reaction. “I--um. Thank you, sir.” 

After a moment or so more, HG glanced down, face flushed. “I--hah, uh, could I… do you want me to…”  _ Come on, Herbert, just get the words out. Stop stuttering.  _ “May I fuck myself for you, sir? I want to… may I?”

'Yes, of course.'

He nodded, shifting around a little bit to grab a small bottle from his bedside drawer. Laying back against the pillows, he dipped a hand down, squirming out of the panties before spreading his legs in front of the camera, circling a finger around himself. “May I?”

'Go ahead, kitty.'

HG gave a small nod, and pressed a finger into himself, gasping. “Shit--god, I wish… ha…” As he spoke, he started to thrust into himself, voice high and breathy. “I--I wish this… I wish it was you… inside of me… fuck…”

'God, so do I… You'd look so pretty riding me.'

“Mph--” He muffled his moan with his free hand, nodding as he pressed another finger in. “God, please, I want to be--fuck--I want to ride you, I want…  _ god _ , please... “ He crooked his fingers, rocking against himself. “I want you to fuck me--I wanna be yours…”

'How much do I need to pay to have you? Or at least a… private session.'

HG gasped softly as he hit that one particular spot, turning into a whine about halfway. “A hundred, bu-ut… yeah, yeah, a hundred.”  _ For you, though, I’d make an exception. _

Sure enough, there was a $100 tip soon after, accompanied by a simple message: ';)'

He raised an eyebrow, and tried to give a cool smirk, though, that was quite difficult considering his current situation. “You’re certainly enjoying this as well, aren’t you, Mr. Homingway?”

'Why wouldn't I be?'

“I don’t quite know, sir, but I certainly am not complaining.” He smiled up at the camera, and after another moment or so, removed his fingers, whining softly. “May I?”

'I don't see why not.'

HG nodded, squirming around a little bit to grab the vibrator again, before pressing it into himself with a breathy moan. “Oh, my god--fuck--sir…” He ground down against it, shutting his eyes. “God--”

'Look at you, so pretty, fucking yourself like that. God, I wish that were me.'

“God, yes, please, I wish…” He started to thrust shallowly, throwing his head back with a low moan. “I wish it was you, I-- _ shit _ , please…”

‘Use your words, doll.’

“I want you to fuck me…” HG’s voice breaks off into a weak whine, and he switches the vibrator on after a few more slow thrusts, making him shudder. “Oh, god--”

‘No need to pray, kitty.’

He nodded, shutting his eyes. “You--you always have… quite--ah… quite the mouth, Mr. Homingway.”

‘I’m sure you’d like to see it in person, dear Goggles.’

“Perha-aps I would.” His voice broke a bit, and HG paused his thrusts for a moment to readjust, sitting up so he was kneeling, the toy between his legs. “You… you said you want to see me ride you, right, sir?”

‘I believe I did, yes.’

“Well, then.” He looked directly up at the camera, before sinking down onto the dildo, moaning quietly. 

‘You’re beautiful.’

“Fuck--thank you, sir… I wish…” He started to rock up and down, trying to keep his voice down. “I wish… I wish this was your… you… I wish I could… be yours, sir…”

‘I bet you do.’

HG bites his lip, speeding up a little bit, raising a hand up to his hair. “God, please--fuck, this feels so good… shit, this--ah…” At this point, he doubted he could form any words that  _ weren’t _ some form of moan.

‘You look so gorgeous, so stunning. I could watch you fuck yourself all day if that were possible.’

He sped up his hips, dropping his free hand once more to stroke himself. “Please, please, I’m--oh my god, I’m so--I’m so close, sir, please, please, please…”

‘Go ahead.’

HG nodded, and after not even another thrust, he was falling apart, moaning brokenly as he weakly rocked up and down. “Thank you… thank you…”

‘Anything for you, dear.’

God, HG was exhausted, and he was breathing heavily as he got off of the toy and laid down on the bed, shutting it off and just breathing for a moment. “That was a lot… so good... ” 

'You did so good. My God, you're amazing.'

He whined softly, shutting his eyes with a small smile. “Thank you, sir…”  _ No, do not fall asleep, Herbert, you have a stream to finish.  _ “I… thank you for coming.” Not even after another minute, he leaned up to shut off the screen, before flopping back onto the pillows, absolutely exhausted.

Though, before he could fall asleep, he grabbed his phone and sent a message to a certain Mr. Homingway69, confirming a private session.

***

_ Goggles: Hi, Mr. Homingway69, (love that name, again), when would you like to schedule? I’m all yours. _

_ homingway69: Does next Friday at 6pm work for you? _

_ Goggles: Sounds perfect, love. xoxo _

***

Ernest read the last message and laughed softly. “God, what a cutie…” Realizing that he was once again in need of a shower, he sighed. “…Tissues work just fine.” After cleaning himself off, he stood up to stretch. glancing at his computer screen with a smile. Unlike the handful of other camfolks he'd watched before, this Goggles boy left Ernest wanting to know more about him, more than just how big of a dildo he could fit in his ass.

But, like most things, there was an appropriate time to ask personal questions and a time to not ask personal questions. In this case, it seemed there would never be an appropriate time. Not unless the rare case came up where Goggles had a non-sexual stream… Ernest couldn't remember the last time that had happened.

***

...it just so happened that one was in the process of being planned the next day, the day before all of HG’s classes were to begin. He doubted anyone would be online (usually, people just stayed to watch him get off) but nonetheless, he had some free time, and… liked talking, if not to himself, to viewers.

Flopping down on his bed, HG got out a sketchbook and started to doodle while waiting for a few viewers to arrive. He recognized a few of the usernames, wildechilde, headdie and ring_my_bel being a common few, but the idle chit chat he seemed to spur with them wasn’t anything he genuinely cared for.

But rather than lay there and yearn, he flipped to a clean page in his sketchbook and started to draw, just a little invention that came to mind. An idea, maybe he could use it in one of his stories…

After a few more minutes, a few more answered questions, (“No, I’m not going to get off today, terribly sorry.” “Yes, I’m an artist! And an author, actually--” “I-- _ what did I just say about getting off, Wildechilde _ ?!”) he leaned his head on his arms, humming to himself. 

'What's up, sluts? Heya, doll.'

Almost immediately, HG’s face lit up. “Homingway! Hello, love!” He leaned forward, beaming. “How’ve you been?”

'Someone's excited to see me. I've been good. How are you doing, my dear?'

He groaned, rolling his eyes dramatically. “I’m tired, classes are starting up again this week and I’m bloody exhausted  _ already _ . They couldn’t have waited just a smidge longer to start handing out textbook requirements and schedules? I’m  _ tired _ .”

'That's quite the coincidence, darling. Classes are starting for me pretty soon, too. I'm about ready to throw myself off the edge of my bed and sleep on the floor.'

“Looks like we’re in the same boat, then, love.” He smiled, leaning his head on his hand. “Honestly, in theory I could make a living off of this, but to be fair, at the same time… books are very neat. It’s either this or reading-slash-writing, so why not both?”

'Both is a great choice, my dear.'

“As a bisexual, I wholeheartedly agree.” HG replied with a grin. “What about you, Mr. Homingway69? Hopes, dreams, aspirations?”

'I hope, dream, and aspire to get you in my pants someday. ;)'

HG’s face immediately went bright red. “I--uh--hah. That… was terrible. That was  _ horrible _ .”  _ I have never been more in love with you than I am this very second--wait, in love? _

...hold up, was he in love with the flirtatious viewer with a name like Homingway69?

...shit. 

“...I can’t believe you.” He laughed, trying to hide his internal panic. “Of all the pickup lines, you choose that, love?”

'Only the best for you.'

“Aw.” HG gave a small smile up at the camera. “Thank you, dear. You’re too good to me, you know?” Oh! That reminded him! “Oh, love! You mentioned a gift a few days back, when should I expect delivery?”

'Later today, hopefully.'

“Brilliant!” He grinned, before going back to drawing a little bit. “I’m looking forward to it.”

'What are you drawing?'

“Oh, it’s just a… silly little thing.” He raised the sketchbook to the camera. “I… I like to invent things, in my free time? It’s quite fun, really, this is… a theoretical time machine… though, I don’t… believe in time travel…”

'Nice!'

HG beamed. “Thank you, love! I quite like it… honestly, do not get me  _ started _ on time travel because I will never shut up.”

'I could hear that pretty voice of yours speak for days on end, sweetheart.'

...why did that make HG want to cry? But not because it was… bad, because it made him feel something he hadn’t felt in a  _ long _ time. “Really?” He whispered, almost shyly.

'Of course, love.’

Nope, no, no, no, Herbert, do not cry on a stream because someone you’ve never met is flirting with you and you think you’re falling in love--...shit. He wiped his eyes, laughing softly, and laid back. “Right. Hah. Um. So. Anything you’d like me to talk about?”

'If you don't mind me asking publicly (you can answer privately if you want at all), where are you going to school?'

“I’ll DM you, love.” HG said quietly, before grabbing his phone and messaging him privately. 

_ Goggles: Persaud Uni. _

***

"Shit." Ernest read the answer and panicked.  _ Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, okay. Goggles is going to school there too. Fuck, okay, what do I do? Do I say something? Do I just… wait for us to inevitably meet? What happens when he finds out that I like him? What would be say???? _ It was safe to say that Mr. Ernest Miller "homingway69" Hemingway was panicking. In his panic, he replied to the message.

_ homingway69: Funky. _

***

...okay. That was odd, but… nothing he hadn’t seen before…? 

...that was a lie, and HG Wells was minorly panicking. Normally, he could handle a bit of awkwardness, but right now? Well, right now, it felt like his heart was trapped in his throat and as though his chest was constricting, and damnit, he knew this feeling. “Well, dears, it’s been lovely, but I--I have to go, bye, farewell--toodle-oo--”

'Goodbye, dear. Best of luck with school. <3'

With an awkward, almost panicked grin, HG shut off the stream, and promptly fell face-first on his bed, holding back tears.

***

"Shit.  _ Funky?  _ What kind of message is  **_'Funky'?_ ** " Ernest needed something,  _ anything _ to take his mind off of the sheer awkwardness that was that last text he sent. Holy shit. He went to the kitchen to get himself a small bit of something to eat, but it did nothing to help him cope with that horrible text.  _ Funky _ . The word replayed in his mind like a broken record player.

***

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,  _ fuck _ .” HG kept repeating, hitting himself in the face with one of his pillows. “Did I--why did I fuck that up, no, no, no--”

God, where was Lenore when you needed her? Oh, right, off with her girlfriend, damnit. HG groaned, rolling over and burying his face in the pillows, shutting his eyes. Maybe if he just… ignored the fact that he probably fucked up, it would all go away. That was how things worked, right?

...right?

“Fuck.” HG repeated, voice muffled. 

Oh, well. It wasn’t like he was going to run into Homingway69 in his classes, of course. He didn’t even give any indication that… well, it was next to impossible to go to the same school as him. 

Sighing, HG reached over and turned off his lamp, not looking up from his pillow.

It was going to be a long night.

***

Ernest couldn't sleep that night. He couldn't help but think that maybe he should just  _ reply with something less stupid. _ Maybe then it'd be alright. Maybe. After a bit of a war with himself, he grabbed his phone and sent a reply. Seeing that Goggles hadn't said anything in response was… rather worrying, but he ignored the feeling.

_ homingway69: I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing to send. Please remind me to never say the word "funky" again. Anyway, I'm surprised that we ended up meeting here and not on campus. _

_ Goggles is typing... _

_ Goggles: You go here too?  _

_ homingway69: I do! _

_ Goggles: Holy shit. What are the odds? Ha! _

_ Goggles: ...okay, remind me never to say “Ha!” like that again. _

_ homingway69: It's cute. Like you. _

_ homingway69: I can't believe I might actually get to see you wear that collar in person… _

_ Goggles: Oh, love, I think (if you’re up to it, of course) that sometime… _

_ Goggles: Well. I mean, I know you had something scheduled, but that can always be in person rather than through a screen, if you’d like. _

_ homingway69 is typing… _

_ homingway69: I'd love that, actually. _

_ Goggles: Yeah? Well, then, Mr. Homingway69, maybe you’d like to get coffee sometime and talk? _

_ homingway69: That would be wonderful, doll. _

_ Goggles: Well, love, if this is a date, have my number. (XXX)-XXX-XXXX _

_ homingway69: Wonderful, I'll see you then. <3 _

_ Goggles: See you then, love. <3 _

***

“And then I think I asked him out?!” HG all but cried into the phone, where a very disgruntled Lenore was having to deal with his ramblings. “How do you---I don’t even  _ know _ him, I don’t---how do you date someone?”

Lenore sighed, and there was a long pause. “Just be yourself---wait, hold on. Cut the rambling until your second date, don’t wear one of those dorky sweater vests… oh, and also, don’t bring up Rover until you’re pretty sure he won’t think you’re crazy.”

HG pouted. “Rover is my  _ son _ , Lenore.”

“A Roomba? A camboy with a Roomba son? Lenscrafters, I love you, but… save Rover for later.” There was a noise on the other end, and Lenore sighed. “I have to go, text me if anything comes up!”

***   
  


"...I think he just asked me out." Ernest blinked. "This… Holy shit,  _ he asked me out and he doesn't even know my first name. _ " He would have texted someone, but who was he going to text and say  _ hey, I think a camboy just asked me out on a date. _ That wasn't a discussion he'd be willing to have with anyone he knew, so he was left alone to silently panic. "He's… holy shit, we go to the same school, we… oh my God, I'm never gonna be able to--  _ holy fuck, he's going to see my face. _ Fuck. What if we have a class together? Shit." He was definitely overthinking this. Would that stop him from worrying? Absolutely not.

***

_ Goggles: Hi, can we reschedule? I just got a notice that my class is going to go late on Friday and I don’t want it to interfere. I’m free this weekend. _

HG laid down his phone, running a hand down his face. How could he tell this… guy that he was freaking out? After all, in all honesty, the confident “Goggles” was nothing more than a college kid with anxiety and a shit ton of debt, he doubted anyone would want that.

So rather than tell the entire truth… well, before HG fell asleep that night, he added a study group to his schedule after that class. Maybe it would be better if he just… stretched the truth a little bit. Ignored that little part of him that so desperately wanted to meet this mysterious Homingway69. 

...ah, oh well. At least he wouldn’t be in his classes.

***

Well, that was a text. Ernest checked it and frowned slightly. Damn… It was okay, though, it wasn't the end of the world.

_ homingway69: That works! As long as I get to see you at all, it'll be worth it. _

He smiled as he put his phone back down and checked his schedule. Why were there so many classes? Too many opportunities to slip up. Too many people that he would need to impress. Too many chances to make a mistake.

...at least Goggles wouldn't be in any of them.

***

The next morning started wonderfully, if you count HG falling out of bed overnight and hitting his head on the ground wonderfully. And sleeping through the alarm? Perfection! Truly! He groaned as he wrapped himself in a blanket, going to the bathroom to brush his teeth and attempt to look put-together. Though, one look in the mirror completely changed his motive, and he gave up, going to throw on a sweater over his other shirt. 

Thank God it was cold out, because if not, well, HG surely would have died on the way to the lecture hall. If anyone looked at him now, he doubted they would realize anything about him. Anything out of the ordinary, anything less than a normal exhausted college student.

...then, there was a bell tolling. HG glanced up, then down at his watch. “...shit!” Late on the first day, what a wonderful way to start the semester. He sprinted over to the building, running up to the lecture hall, and opened the door, composing himself for a moment.. 

“No one will notice. It’s fine.” He tried to repeat to himself, breathing heavily. “It’s fine!”

...it was not fine.

***

“Terribly sorry I’m late!” A voice called, and a man ran into the room, laughing a bit. “I’m so sorry, I--I overslept…” He glanced around for a moment, then took a seat. Ernest looked over and immediately recognized him.  _ Shit _ .  _ That's… I Pavlov'd myself, fuck. _ He tried to hide his panic because  _ holy shit he's so much prettier in person. _ "Maybe don't sleep?" he joked.

The guy--Goggles--paused. “...and what do you expect I do instead, suffer?”

"Not necessarily. Coffee exists, you know."  _ So do other things… _ He shook that thought from his head.  _ Stop being horny, this is an English class. _ He held out a hand for Goggles to shake, hoping to maybe get his name.

Goggles sighed with a smile, taking his hand. “HG Wells. I’m fully aware coffee exists, as I have quite literally survived off of it since I was thirteen, but… thank you for the suggestion… I don’t think I caught your name.” 

"Ernest H-"  _ No. Do  _ **_not_ ** _ say Hemingway. _ "Miller. Ernest Miller."

“Oh! Lovely name, actually.” HG smiled at him, before reaching down to pull something out of his bag. “Did I miss anything before I arrived, or no?”

Ernest shook his head. "No, nothing important. Just attendance."

“Ah.” He nodded, opening a notebook to reveal that… oh. In actuality, that was a sketchbook.  _ The _ sketchbook, the one he was drawing in on the stream. “Well, might as well work on other things until everything’s up and running, right?” 

"Yeah, might as well…" Ernest tried to ignore the pounding both in his chest and between his legs. "...What are you drawing?" He knew the answer, but he figured he'd ask anyway.

HG’s face lit up, but then he paused. “Oh! Oh, it--I--it’s silly.”

"Whatever it is, it's not silly. I promise."

He nudged the sketchbook towards him. “It’s… it’s a proposal for a… a model time machine… I mean--time travel isn’t--I don’t--I…” It was obvious he was used to getting shut down, and his stammering was just getting worse. “Time travel isn’t… isn’t  _ real _ , of course…”

"Not yet it isn't." Ernest smiled, looking at the drawing.

“...not yet?” He looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

"Well, I mean, time travel might not be real right now, but if someone smart enough found a way to, you know, do… something? I don't know, I'm not a science person."

HG held back a giggle. “Science person? You mean a… a scientist?”

Ernest laughed. "Sure."

“Well, should… should it exist, I mean, it  _ is _ possible… I know I said that I don’t believe in it but I most definitely do, it’s so… it makes so much sense! Logically! And… I just… I--I think that it’s very… neat.”

As HG rambled about time travel, Ernest could feel himself falling more and more in love with him. He listened intently, of course, but there was a voice in the back of his head telling him to kiss the boy.

Eventually, though, as the class started, HG quieted, but still leaned over during pauses or other questions from other students to add little tidbits of information that he’d forgotten. “Have you ever seen Doctor Who?”

_ Oh my God, he's such a nerd. Holy shit. _ "No, but I'd like to."

HG’s face lit up. “Can--could we watch some together sometime?” Then, he paused. “I… I mean… if you’re not too--weirded out by my rambling, I…  _ god _ , this is what Lenore told me not to do, I’m sorry for going off on a tangent like this. You’ve barely gotten a word in.”

"It's alright. I think it's cute."  _ Shit. _

“...cute?” HG raised an eyebrow. “I--thank you.”

Ernest smiled a little awkwardly. "Yeah, um, no problem."

“...cool.” He looked away nervously, before starting to sketch again. His hands were shaking a little bit, but nothing out of the ordinary. “So… what do you do? For fun, I mean, or… work…”

"Oh, I… Well, I…"  _ Get off to you? Send you money and collars and sex toys? _ "I write sometimes. I'm also a bartender at a place downtown. Of course, I don't have to ask what you do-- uh, for fun, that is. Drawing, inventing?" He smiled awkwardly to try and hide his panic.

He laughed. “Right, right. I… I’ve never been to any bars in this area, would you recommend the place you work at?”

"Yeah. It's definitely not terrible."

“You’ll have to show me sometime, I’d love to visit.” 

Ernest nodded. "Of course."

HG shot finger guns at him, then seemed to go through the five stages of grief, before landing on an awkward panic. “I--I am  _ so _ sorry.”

Instead of expressing his absolute adoration for HG, Ernest just laughs. "No, no, it's fine. Honestly, I get the whole 'being awkward around new people' thing."

“I’m just awkward in general, if we’re being honest?” 

_ Really? Because it doesn't seem like that on camera. _ Ernest needed to try and push the thoughts into the back of his head. Just… get that horny shit out of there. "That's fair. But hey, I'll keep you company. No matter how awkward you are."

HG practically melted at that. “Really?”

"Really." He nodded.

“...that means a lot.” He glanced down. “Thank you for… talking to me… oh! Here, wait.” He got out a notecard and wrote something down on it, handing it to Ernest. “My phone number. If you ever want to… talk more?”

Ernest took the paper, reading the number. "Huh, this looks familiar…" Shit, he said that out loud. Oh, well.

HG paused, furrowing his brow. “...what?”

"I probably just have a friend with a similar number…" While that wasn't entirely a lie, the other friend just so happened to be HG under a different name. Thank God Ernest hadn't texted him yet.

“...ah. Right.” He laughed nervously, almost with a panicked look in his eyes. 

Ernest smiled awkwardly for a second or so. "...Sorry, that… probably wasn't a normal thing to realize." He took out his phone and pretended to put HG's contact information in. In reality, he simply changed the contact name from "Goggles💗" to "HG Wells".

HG nodded, giving a small smile. “Text me when you have time, then?”

"Yeah, definitely." Ernest nodded as well. This was both the best and the worst possible outcome, and he was going to have to either come clean over text or at their “private session.” 

He wasn’t sure which was worse.

**Author's Note:**

> I've got nothing to say for myself.


End file.
